Fractional Lottery Ticket Transaction System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lottery systems do not support fractional ticket purchases, and the dispensing and collecting of coins as change at point-of-sale terminals are costly and inconvenient for both merchants and customers, leading to a desire for alternative methods to utilize change in purchasing lottery tickets.
Innovation Solution
A fractional transaction server communicates with point-of-sale systems to allow users to round up their purchase prices, using the difference to purchase fractional ownership of lottery tickets, cumulating funds to buy full tickets and distributing winnings proportionally among users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If lottery agencies sell only entire tickets, then the lottery system infrastructure remains simple and manageable, but customers cannot purchase fractional tickets and coins as change become costly and burdensome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a lottery ticket into multiple fractional shares, allowing customers to purchase portions rather than entire tickets. Each fractional share represents a specific ownership percentage of the ticket and any potential winnings. This segmentation enables customers to use small change amounts to invest in lottery tickets while maintaining system manageability through digital tracking of fractional ownership interests.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a lottery ticket fractional sharing system that acts as an intermediary between customers and the lottery agency. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of fractional ownership tracking, win distribution calculations, and coordination with the original lottery system, thereby protecting the simplicity of both the customer interface and the core lottery infrastructure.
2Loss of energy
If the lottery system supports fractional ticket purchases, then customers can use change for ticket purchases and reduce coin dispensing costs, but the system infrastructure and infrastructure adaptation become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the physical mechanical system of coin dispensing with a digital electronic system for tracking and managing fractional ticket ownership. Instead of physically dispensing coins as change, the system electronically records fractional purchases, accumulates ownership interests, and manages win distributions through database operations and software algorithms, thereby eliminating coin handling costs while maintaining operational simplicity.
3Ease of operation
If customers receive coins as change, then the transaction is complete, but customers find it inconvenient and would prefer alternative uses for their change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the typically unwanted byproduct of transactions (coins as change) into a beneficial investment opportunity. Instead of customers receiving and storing physical coins that they prefer not to handle, the system automatically uses their change to purchase fractional lottery ticket ownership, transforming waste change into potential winning investments while simplifying the transaction completion process.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a fractional lottery transaction system that enables users to round up their purchase price when purchasing an item from a merchant, wherein the round up amount may be used to purchase a fractional amount of a lottery ticket. If the lottery ticket that is purchased is deemed a winner by a lottery establishment, the system determines the fractional amount of the winnings each fractional owner receives.